History
The Kelly's are probably the coolest band in the world...among others. But sure
they got tons of talent!!! If you are new about all this Kelly stuff we will tell you
about our favorite band!!
It all started a really long time ago in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Sean O'Kelly, came to America with a whole hoard of other Irish people because
of poverty. At the time their last name was O'Kelly, but they changed It to just
Kelly to sound less Irish. Sometime in 1930, Dan Kelly was born (Papa Dan) In
Erie, Michigan. As Dan grew, he became a teacher, but decided he was much
more interested in antiques, and became an antique dealer. In 1957, he married
his first wife, Joann. There is not much ever said about Joann...hmmm don't
know why. In 1961 Danny, the first born Kelly was born, then in 1962, Caroline
was born, 1963 Kathy, and in 1964 Joann and Dan's last kid together, Paul, was
born. And here is where Joann disappears and we never see her again. Dan
moved to Spain in 1966 because the whole hippie thing going on in America
wasn't his thing, so he took the kids to a place called Toledo (in Spain) and
opened up an antique shop.
The Kelly's way of life changed a lot then, they had no Tv, no car, no radio, no
nothing!! But they were very cool about it instead of laying around and
becoming bored with their simple life, they began singing as a hobby. Dan
arranged for the kids to take music lessons and they began singing for their little
Spanish town once a year at a carnival.
Also around this time Dan met up with Barbara Ann, his second wife, but they
did not marry until after the birth of their first two children. On March 8, 1967
John Michael was born. At this time the family lived in Talvera de la Reina in
Spain, and soon after John's birth the family moved to Camonal, Spain. Here
Barbara gave birth to her second child, Maria Patricia, on November 25, 1969.
Since Dan and Barbara were not yet married their children (John and Patricia)
had the last name Soukko after their mother, but after the family moved back to
America for a short time, the two got married in New York on November 6, 1970
and the two children got the name Kelly.
The Kelly's are probably the coolest band in the world...among others. But sure
they got tons of talent!!! If you are new about all this Kelly stuff we will tell you
about our favorite band!!
It all started a really long time ago in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Sean O'Kelly, came to America with a whole hoard of other Irish people because
of poverty. At the time their last name was O'Kelly, but they changed It to just
Kelly to sound less Irish. Sometime in 1930, Dan Kelly was born (Papa Dan) In
Erie, Michigan. As Dan grew, he became a teacher, but decided he was much
more interested in antiques, and became an antique dealer. In 1957, he married
his first wife, Joann. There is not much ever said about Joann...hmmm don't
know why. In 1961 Danny, the first born Kelly was born, then in 1962, Caroline
was born, 1963 Kathy, and in 1964 Joann and Dan's last kid together, Paul, was
born. And here is where Joann disappears and we never see her again. Dan
moved to Spain in 1966 because the whole hippie thing going on in America
wasn't his thing, so he took the kids to a place called Toledo (in Spain) and
opened up an antique shop.
The Kelly's way of life changed a lot then, they had no Tv, no car, no radio, no
nothing!! But they were very cool about it instead of laying around and
becoming bored with their simple life, they began singing as a hobby. Dan
arranged for the kids to take music lessons and they began singing for their little
Spanish town once a year at a carnival.
Also around this time Dan met up with Barbara Ann, his second wife, but they
did not marry until after the birth of their first two children. On March 8, 1967
John Michael was born. At this time the family lived in Talvera de la Reina in
Spain, and soon after John's birth the family moved to Camonal, Spain. Here
Barbara gave birth to her second child, Maria Patricia, on November 25, 1969.
Since Dan and Barbara were not yet married their children (John and Patricia)
had the last name Soukko after their mother, but after the family moved back to
America for a short time, the two got married in New York on November 6, 1970
and the two children got the name Kelly.
On February 18, 1971, James Victor was born. And just one year later on
December 20, Joseph Maria was born. After this the family moved once again to
Beloscoain. Dan opened up an Irish Pub, which quickly became famous.
In 1974 the band called "The Kelly Kids" was invented. Johnny played the
drums, Paul the saxophone, Caroline the accordion, Kathy the fiddle, and their
teacher's daughter played the guitar. Little Patricia, who was only five at the time,
became very sad that she couldn't go with her older brothers and sisters too! Dan
felt bad for her and told her if she could learn how to sing and play the guitar in
two weeks she could go with them. Patricia became very determined and
succeeded in completing her father's offer in two weeks, and she was allowed to
go with them! Her first song was "Blanco Es El Nino."
Soon after, their street life began, the family began to sing in the streets and
during their performances Barbara would dance while the others sang. In 1975
the family purchased a double decker bus, that they traveled around Europe in,
performing in the streets.
On April 28, the beautiful Barbara Ann was born! She got her mother's name as
well as dancing talent! Barby is probably the most artistically talented of all the
Kelly's. She not only composes songs, but also draws, writes poetry, and
designed the Kelly's original costumes. and of course she is a wonderful dancer.
Although Barby is the quietest one, she has many great qualities that makes her a
favorite among many.
In 1977 the family again traveled to a new place, Dublin, Ireland. Here the family
bought a circus tent, and on December 5, 1977 the SEXY, Patrick Michael was
born (Paddy)! Also Paddy was the only child that was a natural birth. He was
born at home rather than at a hospital.
They signed a contract Polydor and there first single, "Danny Boy" was
produced, but the contract held the Kelly's to a lot of responsibilities that they
were not sure they wanted. They loved there freedom and after traveling from
hotel to hotel, and being a play back band on T.v. shows, the contract was over.
Soon after the family moved to Holland and produced two more albums,
"Christmas for all," and "A Wonderful World." In Berlin on December 4, 1979,
Maite Star was born as the 11th Kelly child. In 1980, "Who'll Come With Me",
sung by John, became a huge success and the family was pleased. But the
happiness did not last long, a darkness fell over the singing family. Barbara had
fallen ill. She was a lovely woman with a big heart and wanted nothing more
than her family to be happy. So they family moved to Spain and in the peaceful
country she was feeling better. Also at this time, Caroline left the band.
On the 23 of December, 1981, two days before Christmas, Angelo Gabriel was
born as the 12 and final Kelly child. From his birth came a strange story, told by,
mom, Barbara. She claims that before she gave birth to Angelo, an angel
appeared before her and told her that her son would bring great happiness to the
world, once he was born Barbara remembered these words and realized he
looked very much like an angel and of course gave him the suitable name.
Only a couple months after Angelo's birth, Barbara passed away. Her death left a
huge hole in the Kelly's lives and still they are not quite over the loss. Even now
many of the Kelly songs are devoted to their mother. The family then moved to
France for a while and Danny left the family to live with his uncle in the USA. In
1984 Paul left the family too!
In 1986, Kathy met her future husband, Vincent. In 1990 they would marry. At
this time, Dan fell ill. The Kelly children tried their hardest to make their papa
feel better. They bought a houseboat in Amsterdam, and soon after moved to
Cologne. They produced two new albums as well, "Live" and "Keep On Singing"
the dying words of their mother.
When Barby was just 14, she wrote her first song, "Papa Cool" which impressed
the others so much they started writing their own music as well. Now each Kelly
writes his/her own music.
In Germany, the Kelly's were becoming even more popular, they produced
another album "New World" and in 1991, "Honest Workers." In 1992 they came
out with "Street Life."
On December 14, 1992, Sean, the first of the Kathy and Vincent's children was
born. In 1993 the family came out with another album, "The Very Best Over 10
Years" and "Wow!" Finally the Kelly's hit it big in 1994 with album "Over The
Hump" which won many awards.
Now KELLY-MANIA had started, and street life for the Kelly Family was over.
Instead they preformed for thousands of fans at a time. They founded their own
record label, Kel-Life, and were now able to control how their music was
produced.
At the end of 1994, "Christmas All Year" was produced. In 1996 in our opinion
the Kelly's best album was released, "Almost Heaven." At the time the Kelly's
thought that maybe they would like to be more famous in the USA, and came out
with infomercials to promote their CD on the U.S. market, it was a HUGE
success! Now they are well known there, and the fans are begging for more
Kellys! In 1997 "Growin' Up" was released and also awarded prizes. In May 1998
"Live Live Live" was produced, a new live unplugged album.
We wish the Kellys success and perhaps more happiness in the future, because
despite their fame, the family misses their everyday freedom they used to have
and their joy is not what it was...but we wish them the best, and only ask for a
smile:-)
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